'97 F150 4.6L, 2wd = Want to replace exhaust manifolds with headers. Money is not a concern. I have heard that Hedmen Headers and Hooker Headers are pretty popular. But there are so many different brands out there and I have no idea what would best suit my truck. Need some giving max hp and max tq gains. What do you all suggest out there?

 

Well i have heard long tubes are the best for low end torque but i maybe wrong

 

My guess is it makes little difference which you get. They are both good choices. I guess a better question is which are easier to install and which are more durable. I do not know the answer to either question, or if there is any significant difference either. I don't think the longtubes have enough advantages to make note of. Iw ould go for ease of installation over the problems with longtubes. I feel that longtubes are not much better than well made shorties.

I would also look to getting one that comes with all the smog ports, it makes installing everything easier and a lot of the companies that make non-emission performance parts are getting sued. Such parts are not street legal and are really only for offroad or track use.

The main choke point on the power of your vehicle is really the valve-train design. The valves are too large and they are timed for emissions and not power (lower volumetric efficiency = less compression = less NOX.) Ford is too cheap to use good cats, so they compensate by de-tuning the motor. But a good set of headers will help.

My real point here, is that headers alone will not provide the best gains unless other modifications are made to enhance the effect. I recommend large bodied catalysts and a smoother y-pipe union. If you want to get really great results for towing and also gain fuel economy, you can velocity port the intake, but this requires pulling the head. Velocity porting would consist of making the intake ports about 20% smaller and making the inside surface rough. This results in a turbulent air-stream which causes better atomization and increased velocity which results in increased volumetric efficiency especially at lower RPM. The high end of the powerband will be improved by the headers.

So you would increase the usable powerband of the motor. Fuel economy would in all likelihood increase. Then replace the cats with good high quality large body units. Our 1000 series is suitable and competitively priced with complete with a superior stainless steel design for durability. More importantly you get a better cat than Ford original equipment, with high efficiency, and lower backpressure. You also get more sound and the tone is deeper.

All these modifications combined could increase the horsepower by up to 46 hp. And the power kicks in at lower RPMs and sustains to the high rpms. For towing this is best kind of power. The peak HP output may be lower with the velocity ports, but you will more easily pull up hills and take off quicker at lights. And you will not need to downshift as often.

I recommend these headers personally
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...&autoview=sku#

Or these, just depending on the year of your truck
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...view=32&N=700+

 

So far, I've installed the K/N 77 Series Air Intake. Got my exhaust converted to a true dual set-up and added two 40 series single chamber flowmasters with turn-downs. I probably will end up going with the flowtech headers because my truck is a '97. As far as the cats are concerned, what brand are the 1000 series you are talking about? I couldnt find them.

 

I'd go with a set of JBA or Doug Thorley headers. They both will give a noticable improvement.

 

Our 1000 series listed on our site are made by Automotive Edge. They are only available through Bear River Converters. Our online store is currently under construction, so if you want to buy through us, you will need to give us a call or visit the eBay store (links at the bottom of the page). Compare them to other brands, I think you will find our product to be of superior quality and in most cases less expensive than other brands. We are going to be providing the results of flowbench tests as well and efficiency comparisions. We already have the test results, we just haven't made the cool looking charts yet.

 

yes, stock cats are very restrictive i agree ditch them for something better. As for the headers, it does make a difference which ones. yes shortys are easier to install and usually are emissions friendly but I would recomend long tubes. Most stay away from long tubes because of clearance issues. Long tubes are proven to put out bigger gains especially in the torque department, which is what a truck needs. I know the 4.6 needs all the help it can get. (everyone Ive talked to in these forums agree and has given a wealth of info and personal experience to help my own decision) If money is no concern thermal coatings are a good idea. Helps keep heat out of engine bay and protects your investment. On the note of emissions, even if the headers you purchase dont come emissions ready a good exhaust shop (or if your doing it yourself) should have no problem retaining all emissions equipment and pass any testing required.

 

http://www.pacesetterexhaust.com/quiktrip.php

I found these and was told to be cautious of sloppy welding. Any other pros/cons?

 

I am not impressed with Pacesetter. I agree, their welds are sloppy, they leave rough edges, and the paint they use is terrible.

 

I thought they used the ceramic coating. Isn't it supposed to be high quality?

 

Not all of them. I just got a set of Pacesetters and was very disappointed by the overall quality. The paint seems to be some kind of high temp paint, but you can see where it ran when they applied it. They might ceramic coat their more expensive ones. Even with the coating, they had rough edges, and pipes protruding inside each other.

 

"Ceramic Coating" is actually just a glorified paint with a ceramic content. It is sprayed on and it dries. The coating is not fully cured until exhaust heat is applied and finally cures the coating.



Duplicolor makes a 1200 degree ceramic based paint that works well. Not all ceramic coatings are equal but they will all eventually rust.

After about 4 months my Doug Thorley ceramic coated headers are starting to rust at spots. Thorley headers are top notch and have a decent ceramic coating but they will still rust.

I suggest getting a painted set of headers and strip off all the factory paint down to bare metal. Smooth down all the welds and remove any weld spatter. Get some of the Duplicolor 1200 deg header paint ("Aluminum" matches the usual ceramic coating color) and paint them as the can says.

 

Is there any other brand out there, besides Pacesetter, that produces long-tubes for full-size pick-ups?

 

personally, im using flowtech long tube headers on my truck currently. only had to hammer drivers side front tube to clear the motor mount. but also my truck is a 1967 with a 390 now.

header dump into 3" collector and then into 20"long power sticks.

just my .02cents